Nearly 100 speakers took turns over three hours extolling the virtues or excoriating the legacy of 18th century Roman Catholic Saint Junípero Serra in a Ventura City Council virtual meeting Wednesday evening.
In the end, it was decided a bronze statue of the controversial California missionary — who has come under recent and intense scrutiny statewide — would be hauled away from in front of Ventura City Hall. A similarly sized wooden replica, located inside City Hall, will also be removed.
The 6-0 unanimous vote, which included one abstention from Mayor Matt LaVere, took place on the feast day of the patron saint of Ventura’s Mission Basilica San Buenaventura.
When the statues will be removed has yet to be determined, but the resolution declared “the intent” to relocate both to the mission.
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